


13/02/2019: Look After You

by pop_incognito



Series: 365 Drabbles [44]
Category: Free!
Genre: Caretaking, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-16 14:05:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18095777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pop_incognito/pseuds/pop_incognito
Summary: If Natsuya flies back to Japan from another country just to look after his sick boyfriend, that's his own business.





	13/02/2019: Look After You

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back again!! Hope everyone enjoys!

Natsuya is nearly dead on his feet as he is trying to get the key into the lock, but he doesn’t care, because Nao is just on the other side of the door, sick and alone, and Natsuya is going to take care of him whether Nao wants him to or not. The jet lag makes it harder than it actually is to unlock the door to Nao’s apartment, but he gets there eventually, entering the apartment and tripping over his own feet as he tries to take his shoes off and close the door at the same time.

Shoes discarded and lock flipped, Natsuya sheds his coat and bags on the couch, and he quietly makes his way through the dark apartment to Nao’s bedroom. His worry spikes – Nao must be really sick if he still hasn’t forced himself out of bed to open the curtains, considering that it’s nearly midday. Forgoing a knock on the door, Natsuya lets himself inside his partner’s room, and coos lightly at the lump of blankets swaddled on the bed. A sleepy mumble answers him, and the blankets move, a lock of lilac hair and the red tip of a nose appear.

“Ikuya, I told you that I don’t need you looking in on me every other hour, go to school,” Nao slurs, his voice thick and stuffy. His eyes finally appear, squinting around in the dark without his glasses on. “Wait, Natsuya?” And Nao sits up hastily, which makes Natsuya rush across the room to wrap an arm around Nao’s waist before he falls down again. “What are you doing here?”

Natsuya presses his hand to Nao’s forehead and feels the unnatural warmth there. “I was on the phone to Ikuya yesterday and he hung up on me – said he had to go and check on you because you were sick.”

Frowning, Nao leans his head against Natsuya’s chest. “So you… what? Flew here from wherever the hell you were?”

“Pretty much,” Natsuya says easily, smiling. He doesn’t say, ‘I’d drop everything and fly anywhere for you’, because Nao already knows that. “I was only in Spain anyway.” Nao makes a noise of protest and smacks at Natsuya’s arm weakly, and Natsuya laughs quietly, kissing the top of Nao’s head. “Don’t be mean to me, I came to look after you. I even brought you a present!”

Nao settles down, leaning heavily against Natsuya. “It’s not another bull clock is it?” he asks, looking over at the red novelty clock from Natsuya’s last trip to Spain. “Because as much as I love Alejandro, I don’t think I have enough room for another one.”

Tightening his arms around Nao, blankets and all, Natsuya starts stroking Nao’s sweaty hair off his forehead. “It’s not a bull clock. It’s a lace-topped fan with roses embroidered on it. I thought you could mount it on the wall.”

“Sounds beautiful,” Nao murmurs, and he nuzzles against Natsuya for a minute or two before rolling down onto his side and curling up again. “Could you… get me some water? And a pain killer? And then can you lay with me for a little while.” He uses his elbow to fluff the blankets back a little, leaving an inviting flap open for Natsuya to slip in behind him. Natsuya leaves with a kiss to Nao’s cheek, returning with a glass of water, the pain killers, and a box of Cold&Flu that he found in the cabinet. “Oh, thank you, baby,” Nao croaks, sniffling wetly when he sees the little yellow pill alongside the white ones for his headache. “I forgot I had those.”

Natsuya grins. “Now you’re going to have garlic breath for the rest of the day,” he giggles, earning himself an eyeroll and a flick to the forehead. He waits for Nao to finish with the water and then takes the glass back into the kitchen, taking a pit stop in the bathroom for some more tissues before ducking back into Nao’s bedroom. “Here, keep them on your side,” he says, handing the tissues over. As Nao wedges the box between his pillow and the wall, Natsuya takes his jeans and socks off, contemplating the mound of blankets before stripping his shirt off too, climbing onto the mattress and settling beside Nao.

A groan echoes out of Nao’s mouth as the cool, dry skin of Natsuya’s chest brushes Nao’s own over-heated back. “That feels so good,” Nao says appreciatively, and he reaches out with grabby hands to pull Natsuya’s arms around him, revelling in the refreshing change of temperature. “Just stay like this for a little while…”

“Anything for you,” Natsuya says, tucking his face against the back of Nao’s neck, and settling in for a nap. “Now go to sleep, I’ll wake you up for dinner.”

Nao lets out a noise that almost sounds like a purr. “Just as long as you’re not cooking,” he says sleepily, and Natsuya huffs indignantly.

“I can cook,” Natsuya defends himself. “Just because I’m not as good as you…”

He makes soup for Nao. Extremely basic and largely packet based, but Nao is grateful for it anyway – he even relents and lets Natsuya spoon feed it to him, even though he has already started feeling better than he was this morning. Neither of them will care if Nao is ‘sick’ for a few extra days after the cold disappears, it just gives Natsuya an excuse to stay for longer before hopping back on a plane to go off to another race somewhere.

“I love you,” Nao tells Natsuya once the bowl is empty and they are cuddled up on the couch in a quilt, old reruns of Sailor Moon playing on the TV. “Thank you for always looking after me.”

Natsuya flushes and kisses Nao’s temple. “I love you too, baby. I’ll always look after you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment and leave kudos!


End file.
